sandy, the devastation, the rescues, the early efforts to recover and most importantly to rebuild. i'm live in new york city from a balcony of the time warner center. just over my should, the chanced crane still dangling over 57th street, the entire area still blocked off. the storm claimed least 50 lives in the u.s. and one in canada. a woman who was hit by storm-tossed debris, damage is expected to run into tens of billions of dollars. and today, a new challenge, looters breaking into businesses. >> people coming out with all kinds of stuff, everything. whatever you can think of, from juice and sodas, waters, cigarettes, tvs, anything you can think of, they were getting it. >> 9,000 people spent the night in red cross shelters spread across 13 states. national guard troops arrived overnight and are rescuing families trapped by floodwaters in hoboken, new jersey. we learned today that the navy

is sending three amphibious landing ships to the coast of new york and new jersey in case they're needed. president obama stopped by fema headquarters in washington before heading to new jersey to join governor chris christie to tour the damage caused by sandy. we're going to get to that in a moment. buses and ferries are running and bridges into manhattan are now open. the nation's largest subway system is still water logged. limited subway and rail service begins tomorrow. one sign of normalcy today, the new york stock exchange is open. the opening bell rung by mayor bloomberg. president obama arrived as i said in new jersey in last hour to get a personal look at the devastation that sandy left behind. he's touring the damage zone with one of republican mitt romney's most vocal supporters, new jersey governor chris christie who says this is no time for politics. >> this is so much bigger than an election. this is the livelihood of the people of my state.

what they expect me to do to get the job done. when someone asks me an honest question, i give an honest answer. how has the president been to deal with? he's been outstanding to deal with on this. >> i'm joined by chief political correspondent candy crowley and chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. what's been going on right now? >> reporter: the president just boarded a helicopter with governor chris christie. there in new jersey. they're in flight, viewing some of the most damaged areas. we won't actually get video of that until slightly later in the afternoon because of the situation there, we can't actually get live pictures. but as you said, the president not only held a meeting this morning with fema and some of the other emergency leaders, he also placed a call on his way up to the new jersey and spoke to some of the doctors at nyu medical center. you'll recall that's where they lost generator and power and he thanked some of the doctors there who moved 200 people out,

200 patients out of the hospital, under very difficult circumstances. and said this is, you know, the kind of example of americans working together during a time of crisis. obviously emphasizing the positive without making it an explicitly political moment, anderson. >> and, candy, what have you been reporting on? >> reporter: well, just sort of looking at the politics, the optics as we like to say, governor christie, a republican and a strong supporter, in fact, a keynote speaker at the republican national convention for mitt romney versus president obama less than a week from what looks like a very tough re-election bid. so the politics of this obviously something they're talking a lot about here in washington. i think it is probably useful to note chris christie is in a democratic state of new jersey and is up for re-election next year. both of them saying, look, this is about the people who were devastated and there is no doubt that's exactly how both of them feel. but when you take it the next

step and look at the politics of it, this is the kind of picture that sets washington politicos talking. >> and, candy, democrats have been reminding everybody as much as they can about governor romney's answer to a question about eliminating fema at a cnn debate earlier this year. >> reporter: yes, and, you know, he -- it should not be a surprise that a republican would want to give money to the states and say, hey, the states know best how to organize a disaster relief because they know the state. i don't think he talked about eliminating fema so much as putting the bulk of it there. fema, as we know, is one of those agencies, kind of an organizing agency, it gets things to the states so you clearly do need federal help here, but there has been a lot of hay made of that because obviously when a disaster comes, even the people that say, you know, the government needs to get out of my business, this is

the time when you really do need help from someone bigger than your neighbor. so it set off that argument as well. but i think the larger thing and one of the things that has taken up the breadth of the political discussion now is this going to affect the election in any way, will people be more likely to vote for president obama because he's looking presidential, are they less likely to vote for mitt romney because he, you know, said the fema money probably ought to go to the states and let them figure out how they want to spend money. so i think in the end, when you're looking at the states that have been affected here, particularly new jersey and new york, although obviously virginia also got hard hit as did maryland, the four of those states, they're all pretty solidly democratic, so i think in terms of what it might do to the states hard hit, i think you still are looking at three solidly democratic states and one tossup state, virginia. >> candy crowley, jessica yellin, thank you. we'll continue to check in with you as we get more images from

president obama and governor chris christie together in new jersey. flood trapped thousands of people in their homes in hoboken, new jersey. national guard members are rescuing people, delivering meals. also working to pump out millions of gallons of water mixed with sewage, which is obviously always a growing health concern. hoboken's mayor is urging people not to go outside. she says there are live electrical wires in some waters. debris is piled up all over the place. hoboken is a city of 50,000 people, located directly across from manhattan to the west of where i'm standing. brian todd is in hoboken now. brian, bring us up to speed. what is the latest? >> reporter: anderson, national guard trucks rolling through here, trying to pick people up who are stranded. you can see here what the situation is. this water is coming up to people's knees, some of these gentlemen here are trying to clear storm drains, but you can see down the street, several cars stranded, many, many residents stranded in their homes.

national guard high clearance vehicles moving through here, trying to pick some people up, taking them to higher ground and taking them to places where they can at least take some shelter for now. anderson, it is slow going and this surge that we're seeing here, the surge of water is really a result of storm drains backing up. when the storm came through, the rain filled up the water from the hudson river backed them up, they had nowhere to go. on the low lying street in new york, newark and garden street in the heart of the city, so it is a pretty dire situation here, the water has receded, but still it is slow and grinding process to try to get back to normal here. >> last night, talking to mayor don zimmer in hoboken, she was desperate for national guard to get there, she got that word late last night and arrived very quickly. brian, officials estimate 500 million gallons of water needs to be pumped out of hoboken alone. how long is that going to take? >> reporter: it is going to take at least several days, anderson.

look at what is going on here. over to my right, your left. this gentleman is a city resident. he and a couple of other guys here have taken it upon themselves to try to clear storm drains. you see the whirl whipool there that's how slow going it is. he'll shovel something out of the storm drain, you'll see a whirlpool going down, then something to my left and a gentleman across the street doing the same thing, these are volunteers doing this. city workers, of course, doing some as well. it takes a long time and this water is frankly very nasty. chris turner can kind of pan down here, i'm standing in the middle of an oil slick, there is a lot of debris in here, garbage, a lot of stuff you don't even want to think of. and officials are warning people not to walk too much in it as we're doing, of course, but not supposed to be too heavy into the stuff because you don't know what's back here. >> yeah, nice to see people lending a hand when they can. brian todd, appreciate the reporting. we got some breaking news now on cnn. we're getting word now of evacuations at another hospital here in new york.

let's bring in dr. sanjay gupta. what have you learned? >> we obtained an e-mail from the hospital group that was sent to new york area hospitals and basically said it has been decided it is necessary to evacuate bellevue hospital, pretty important development here. we're here now outside bellevue, got a hold of that memo. we're here outside the hospital. they did evacuate many of their critically ill patients in the days prior. about 500 patients they still have to move. you're familiar with this area of town, you know, it is close to nyu langen hospital. there is a long driveway to the er at bellevue. people that know this area, know it well, that area is now completely filled with ambulances. probably 50, 75 ambulances i'm looking at. they're all getting ready to station themselves. they have stretchers that are pulled up alongside many of these ambulances.

and my guess is that there is likely within the next several minutes an evacuation to begin. looks like it is pretty well organized and coordinated here and not in the middle of the storm, obviously, but everyone sort of standing by to begin this process. it is a large process. >> and is it because generators have failed there? is there power in that area? >> i talked to some of my sources and best i can tell you is that there is a generator, according to my sources, that is functioning, just one. but more a question of how they plan to -- what is not able to happen yet as to what has, meaning that if the power -- if you have a primary power source back by now this complete evacuation would not be necessary. that has not happened. one generator is not going to be enough to basically take care of the needs of this very large hospital. so this has been a decision -- i think it is -- there is a lot of

people involved with the decision. a lot of people have been notified of this and i'm looking firsthand now at the process unfolding, anderson. >> appreciate the reporting. keep us updated on that situation. again, just to remind you, here on the island of manhattan, on the west side, basically sort of below around 30 or 31st street there is not power on the east side, below around 39th street or so, there is not power and cell phone communication is difficult in a lot of spaces. there is no cell phone -- i'm not sure why that is, but cell phones aren't working, people are not getting e-mails and there is no power all over the city. subways aren't running. i want to get a good look at the damage in new jersey, though. because it is really severe. this is the jersey shore, resort area, obviously, entertained vacationing americans for generations. governor christie says the damage to his state's beaches is overwhelming. that's the word he used. i want to take you to tom's river, new jersey, now and show you the devastation there. and also listen to this woman

recount her story, how she survived, she talked to our michael holmes. >> we hit cody marina where all the boats are floating in the water and we got submerged in that as well. so we were sitting in the car, up to our necks in water. and we had to climb out of the windows and swim out to higher ground. never did we think this was going to happen. we had lost cable. we were just sitting around talking, fireplace is going. i looked out the window and said oh, my god. we got to get out of here. the water is up to the garage door. >> what has the last 24 hours been like for you? >> unbelievable. you can't believe this is happening. this is something you see in other states. it doesn't happen here in new jersey. you're in shock. everybody is in shock. we never thought it was going to be this bad, ever. >> a lot of people never thought it would be this bad. and did not evacuate, even though they were mandatory evacuation zones, that's from

michael holmes. i'll talk to him later on. when we come back, we'll take a short break. when we come back, i want to take you into the new york subway system, show you the -- some of the images now we're getting of what the subway station looks like and some of the destruction we have seen down there. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year. so why exactly should that be of any interest to you?

well, in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. like the transatlantic cable that connected continents. and the panama canal that made our world a smaller place. we supported the marshall plan that helped europe regain its strength. and pioneered the atm, so you can get cash when you want it. it's been our privilege to back ideas like these, and the leaders behind them. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping people and their ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪

at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. welcome back to our live coverage from new york on the aftermath of hurricane sandy. if you've not seen the pictures of the new york subway system, well, be warned. instead of the sounds of busy people heading places, all you hear is the sound of water splashing. we see this hard to believe. the subways can be up and running anytime soon. take a look at the images, really never seen anything like this in new york. soon is what new york's governor promises, though. let's take a listen. >> limited new york city subway service supplemented by a bus bridge from brooklyn to

manhattan will begin tomorrow. >> that's just one small part of the subway. let's bring in chad myers. chad, looking at the images, it is hard to imagine the system getting up and running in a major way anytime soon. >> certainly not south of 34th street, something like that, that's where the major damage occurred, that's where the surge got into the south ferry and we heard water all the way up to the top. that means all of the machines are flooded with saltwater. the machines to buy the tickets, the machines to get through the turnstiles. the third rail, all of that still wet. and the pumps are working, getting out, but i'm telling you what, if you're talking about that south end of manhattan, talking about lower manhattan, i don't believe we're going to be up tomorrow or for that matter anytime this week. >> i can tell you, that's where i live, electricity is still obviously out. just getting around, it is really interesting, chad, because, you know, above where there is electricity, upper manhattan, it is much easier,

restaurants are open and people can get food. downtown where i live, everything is shut down. you have to walk everywhere. the buses are jammed. they just started running today. you can share taxi rides, but taxis are few and far between. i got a lift, two guys in a car, just stopped, picked me up, and drove me, you know, close to where i work, but it is a real mess down there and doesn't seem to be getting any better quickly. >> the shared cabs came out last night, cabs can pick people up at the curb, that's usually a car service. 1.9 million new yorkers without power. that was directly from governor cuomo about three minutes ago on his twitter feed. if you want to follow governor cuomo, he's actually -- he has a fantastic quick twitter feed there going. you can get port authority information. moving around lower manhattan, anywhere literally south of penn station for the next days upon days is going to take a very

long time. >> chad, do you know why cell service in downtown manhattan isn't working either? >> i don't know that, but all i can tell you is that most of the cell towers down there worked on backup generators, do have backup generators and they don't seem to be working at all. because there is no power down there at all, the cell towers are really just -- they're not working. >> all right, chad, appreciate that. let's go to cnn's michael holmes for a quick update from the jersey shore. >> reporter: anderson, we're here on the west side of the mathes bridge, route 37 as the locals call it. that is the bridge to the barrier islands. you've seen the pictures, that whole area devastated by hurricane sandy. you can still see a boat sitting out there in the middle of the median there, leading up to the bridge. now, a couple of hours ago we had a huge convoy of emergency vehicles go by, the office of emergency management for new jersey leading the way. tractor trailers, fire trucks,

gas trucks, there were emergency workers and also crucially the national guard was going over there as well. what they're going over to do is set up a command post and then fan out across that area. some of those houses are yet to be searched. there are according to the local police still people who need to be brought from their homes. yesterday we watched as some of them were evacuated late in the day. several hundred apparently were brought over. this was an area that had a mandatory evacuation order, so many people decided to stay and ride it out. we were over there the day that sandy came in, got out before it arrived and spoke to several people who said, we're local, how bad can it be, we're going ride it out. they must have regretted that situation when you look at the pictures of the iconic landscape over there that is now just so devastated. it is going to take months and millions and millions of dollars to clean that up. not to mention the rest of this area around here, which was also hard hit. back to you, anderson.

>> michael holmes reporting. so many places in new jersey we want to tell you about, also that community in queens where 80 houses, at least 80 houses burned down to the ground. we're coming up, going to take a look at what kind of impact the storm had on early voting in the presidential election. we'll be right back. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.

♪ ...mom's smartphone... dad's tablet... or lauren's smartphone... at&t has a plan built to help make families' lives easier. introducing at&t mobile share. one plan lets you share data on up to 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. add a tablet for only $10 per month. at&t.

as we reported on earlier, president obama is with governor chris christie in new jersey, touring areas that have been really badly impacted by this storm. we're awaiting also the introduction of mitt romney right now. he's about to speak to supporters in coral gables, florida. stand by for that. we'll bring you some of what he has to say. here is mitt romney this morning, his first official campaign event since the arrival of hurricane sandy. now in the shadow of the natural disaster, here he is paying tribute to the idea of personal sacrifice. >> i think of the moms and dads who have two jobs right now, or one has a day job and one has a

night job, they hardly see each other. and why? so they can buy the clothes for their kids that won't make their kid stand out at school. i think of all the parents at christmas time last year and probably this year who are saying to each other, let's not exchange gifts so we have plenty to give to our kids. this is the american character, to live for things greater than ourselves. and this is a time when the people of america are going to have to do that. i'm convinced that you here in florida have very clear eyes when it comes to an understanding of what america faces right now. >> as we said, we're awaiting romney's appearance in coral gables, florida. he'll have another event in jacksonville later tonight. three scheduled stops tomorrow and on swing state, virginia. president obama resumes campaigning tomorrow, just five days before the election with appearances in green bay, wisconsin, boulder, colorado, and las vegas. unchartered waters of the two campaigns, no doubt about it. the same for election officials in some of the areas that are hit by sandy.

joe johns is with us now from washington. do we have, joe, any idea, six days out, of the potential disruptions we could see on election day? >> reporter: we're at least beginning to get an outline of it, but we just won't be sure until we get to election day. we have been paying a lot of attention to the battleground states, virginia, pennsylvania, and north carolina, all in the past, if you will, of the storm. the issues are about whether early voting is affected and then what is going to happen on election day. okay, starting with pennsylvania, there is no early in person voting in pennsylvania, but the question is whether in person voting on election day might be affected in and around philadelphia. now, this was a state that was just slightly beginning to tick over to the obama side and the presidential race, the question is whether problems with voting machines running on batteries, voting machines supplemented with paper ballots if necessary may cause tightening in the pennsylvania race. virginia, a state that does early in person absentee voting.

had a few problems at the centers monday and tuesday. northern virginia, and they appear to be back on track to our knowledge, but they aren't returning our calls. in north carolina, in early voting they were running ahead of 2008 totals in terms of number of voters, slowed dramatically as the storm came, a lot of snow in the mountains, some other problems on the outer banks along the coast, all back up to speed now, we're told. but that snow could cause some continuing concerns, anderson. >> it is also just logistically so complicated. for folks who evacuated from the areas where they lived, the question is where would they go and vote because the area they would normally go vote in probably is unavailable to them. there is that to factor into all of this. is anyone talking about changing or extending voting hours or even delaying the voting process in any of these affected states? >> reporter: these can be possibilities, but it all depends on the rules of the state, anderson. if a state has some rules in

place to deal with that, then they'll go forward and do that. if they don't have rules in place, it is hard to say what they'll do. new york has rules in place saying they could delay day by day up to perhaps 20 days, depending how you read the law. but some other states are even talking about the possibility of paper ballots. some states already use paper ballots, like massachusetts and connecticut. it is a real mixed bag. it depends on the state. and sometimes even the counties within a separate state. >> it is going to be a mess. joe johns, appreciate that. one thing we want to look at when we come back, we'll take a short break, is this storm, this storm which people say is one of the century, is this a sign of things to come, a sign of the kind of storms we're going to be seeing more of? we're going to talk about that ahead.

you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank. you know, one job or the other. the moment i could access the retirement plan, i just became firm about it -- you know, it's like it just hits you fast. you know, you start thinking about what's really important here. ♪

welcome back to our continuing coverage of superstorm sandy. aaron herman walked around his neighborhood, capturing some of the destruction he saw following the superstorm. let's watch. >> devastation in white plains, where literally trees are ripped from its roots. >> amazing stuff. first, irene, now sandy. for two consecutive years, costly deadly hurricanes hit the northeast. we're hear a lot of people say if irene was a wake-up call, sandy is a bucket of water that should snap us all to attention. let's listen to andrew cuomo, the governor of new york. >> there has been a series of extreme weather incidents.

anyone that is not a political statement, that is not a factual statement. anyone who says there is not a dramatic change in weather patterns, i think is denying reality. and i would like to say that this is probably the last occurrence we will have. i don't believe that. >> cuomo went on to say new york now seems to get a 100 year flood every two years. joining me now is ben strauss, the chief operating officer and director of the program on sea level rise at climate central. is this a sign of things to come? governor cuomo is saying we seem to be getting 100-year storm every two years. >> this was actually -- since 1900, three of the top ten highest flood levels have occurred in the last three years. >> that's not a coincidence. >> i don't believe it is. it makes me very suspicious that something else is at play here. >> and should officials have been better prepared for this? >> well, there have been

warnings for ten years or more, reports that the scientific community has been issuing. new york is extremely vulnerable to storm surge, just from its geography. a big part of what happened with sandy is we got very unlucky. wrong storm hit at the wrong angle and squeezed water up long island sound and the new york harbor. but climate change made it worse. and it is continuing to make storms like this worse. >> if the water was cooler, the storm would not be as big. >> well, that's one of the factors. this summer we had record high temperatures, the sea surface temperature off the east coast of the united states, warm water feeds the energy of storms like sandy. and in fact research that came out just last month showed an association between warmer sea surface temperatures and higher storm surges, higher floods from hurricanes. >> we're seeing larger and larger populations building along the coast. what kind of impact does that have? >> that has a huge impact.

at this stage, it is a much bigger factor. if manhattan was not populated, and the coasts of the jersey shore and long island weren't such very dense areas, we would have seen a lot suffering, a lot less economic damage. >> what should be the lesson of this? what should we take away from it? >> the seas have risen more than a foot in the last century. that's another contributor and we're projecting several more feet over the next century. >> wow. >> the lesson is that we have to prepare for what is becoming increasingly likely. the higher the sea level is as we melt the ice on this planet, from warmer temperatures, the more what used to be a normal storm becomes a really damaging flood. new york is a place with very complex infrastructure. and lots of different players involved. so i think if we want to protect ourselves in these dense areas, we have to do some very deep thinking about how we plan for

coasts that are going to be moving and changing. there is no doubt they are. >> there is no doubt about that. >> there is no doubt. we can slow it down. if we reduce pollution of the atmosphere with heat trapping gases, we can slow down the amount of sea level rise that we're going to see. >> you're saying no doubt a couple of feet. >> yes, i think that would be toward the low end. >> i appreciate you being with us. thank you very much. >> thank you. up next, we're getting an emotional video of rescues in hoboken, where folks are still stranded. the national guard is now there. we'll take you there when we come back. all energy development comes with some risk,

but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. high up in the atlas mountains of morocco. have you seen this road we're going down? ♪ there is no relief for the brakes. we'll put them to the test today. all right, let's move out! [ ross ] we're pushing the ats brakes to the limit. going as fast as we can down the hill. we are making these sharp turns, slamming on the brembo brakes.

[ derek ] it's like instant response, incredibly consistent. this is the challenge, machine vs. mountain. [ male announcer ] the all-new cadillac ats. so i brought it to mike at meineke. we gave her car a free road handling check. i like free. free is good. my money. my choice. my meineke.

the national guard is rescuing trapped families in hoboken, new jersey, right now.

hoboken mayor don zimmer is asking people to bring boats to city hall to help free people who are trapped in their homes. national guard is also working to pump out millions of gallons of water mixed with sewage, which is always a growing health concern in these kinds of situations. hoboken, there is 50,000 people who live there, right across from manhattan to the west of where i'm standing. the narrow streets are making rescues a lot more complex, though. the mayor is urging people not to go outside, saying there are live electrical wires in the water. meteorologist bob van dillen with our sister network hln is in hoboken. what have you been seeing today? what is the latest? >> anderson, good afternoon to you. we got here early this morning at about 5:00, still pitch black. the guard itself was lined up the street from where i am, about four blocks up. there are half a dozen trucks ready to go. t too dangerous to go when it was

dark so they waited until first light and started rolling out. you see the path they took, into the floodwater. it goes about four blocks. took a couple of turns, one to the left, one to the right. an hour and a half later, they came back, big loop, and dumped off all the people they had up there and went back out and did it again. the national guard has been going out nonstop. and two minutes ago, had another huge truck going by, and it looks like there is another one ready to go here as well. there is another truck coming down the street, going out to get more people. basically there are people that are trying to be evacuated because they can't get out of the water. it is absolutely putrid, fuel, sewage, water inside there, just not good at all. so they're running out of supplies. there goes one right now. you can see it. they're running out of supplies so these trucks are going to pick them up and basically just making big, big loops and grabbing a lot of people. there it goes. you can see just how high the water is too, anderson. going down a little bit, but still not passable.

>> and all that water has to be pumped out, right, bob? >> yeah. it is a real issue. see this guy here, he has a ski pole in his hand, he's trying to clear the drains. he's doing a good job, too. the last couple of minutes you see swirlings going on. the water is draining. why i'm sta it is gradually going down in hoboken, but not fast enough. these people are getting frustrated. that's all there is to it. >> is he a citizen doing that or does he work for the city? >> that's a good question. i don't see any city markings on him, nothing says hoboken on him or anything. i think he's a guy doing it because he's fed up. with that kind of equipment, a ski pole and waders, i'm thinking he's a guy who is helping out. >> we're seeing more and more people do what they can in their local communities. bob van dillen, we'll check back in with you. in queens, in some areas homes burned to the ground. dozens of homes in one

particular area. we'll take you there next. what if there was a new way to deal with money that focused less on fees and more... on what matters? maybe your bank account is taking too much time and maybe it's costing too much money. introducing bluebird by american express and walmart. your alternative to checking and debit. it's loaded with features, not fees. because we think your money should stay where it belongs. with you. the value you expect. the service you deserve. it feels good to bluebird. get it at your local walmart. and need to get my car fixed? progressive makes it easy, because we give you choices. you can pick where to get your car fixed, we can cut you a check, or, at our service center, we take care of everything for you. [ relaxing music playing ] [ chuckles ]

-whew, so many choices. -take your time. -the service center. -okay. giving you choices -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. the wheels of progress haven't been very active lately. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here to help. making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward.

so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. one of the places we have been showing you that was really just so brutally hit by the storm is breezy point in queens. and now neighbors are returning to their homes today, collecting any items and valuables left from the storm damage. the neighborhood sits on the very tip of the rockaway peninsula in queens. deborah feyerick is there. she has been there for the last two days. what are you seeing? i can't imagine what the people are seeing when they come back, so many homes destroyed there. >> reporter: you know, it really is astonishing. just to give you perspective of how deep it is, if you can pan all the way to the other end, you're looking at a swath of homes that is just incredibly immense.

that fire described as something of such intensity that in fact firefighters say they never saw anything like it. what we'll witness over the next couple of hours, anderson, this is remarkable. a lot of people who live here in breezy point, they have been coming back, searching through the debris, for most of them, they have lost virtually everything. a few people, though, have found one or two things, souvenirs, mementos, one person, for example, taking the house number from where they live, another woman actually finding little rosary from her communion some 70 years ago, small things that they're devastated and yet at the very same time, they also realize that what they lost can be replaced. but also what we witnessed today anderson, people who are going through all of these homes, usar teams, urban search and rescue teams, everyone for now has been accounted for, but those teams don't want to take any chances. they want to make sure in fact everybody who was here did manage to get out.

the count is a little murky because nobody is quite clear as to who may have stayed in their homes. so they're just sort of crossing it off their list, searching through all the different homes, anderson. but it is really rather remarkable because the people here at breezy, as they call it, they lost the most people per capita on 9/11 than anyone. they came together then. they're coming together now. and they are convinced, they say they will indeed rebuild. so rather a remarkable scene, anderson, we have been watching and monitoring all day. >> it is just so sad, so many of those folks are first responders, firefighters, police officers, retired police officers, members of the coast guard, and they probably have to work and at the same time dealing with this -- all this stuff and their personal lives. deb, thanks. we'll continue to check in with you. up next, sandy causing huge headaches across the nation when it comes to travel. plus, we're waiting on a news conference from new york city mayor michael bloomberg, he'll give us the latest information on the subway system, electricity being restored and the like. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year.

in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move

from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ and the next great idea could be yours. if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.

as you've seen, sandy brought really extensive damage to seaside heights, new jersey. mayor bill acre spoke to cnn about the devastation he witnessed. >> right now it is just trying to, you know, just trying to get some kind of semblance of what it was. when you're looking at this picture, what they thought is seaside heights before, it is never going to be the same. it will never be that old sea site height seaside heights. it is going to be different. we lost two piers. they're in the ocean. you're seeing visual pictures from above. the structure underneath the pilings, people's foundations, things that you can't really see right now, it is actually catastrophic. i don't know where i'm going to walk through this. i have good people to guide me

and help me get through the process. >> i talked to him last night. he said they they need all the help they can get. there are so many stories of how people got through the storm. i want to go to sandra endo in -- actually, mayor michael bloomberg is talking right now. let's go to him. >> we may find a few more bodies. everybody here, our hearts go out to the families of those new yorkers who were lost in the storm and to those who lost their homes. our thoughts and prayers and prayers are with everyone and we certainly will give our full support over the next weeks and months to those who were hurt by the storm. the fdny search and recovery operations are continuing in some of the areas hit hardest by the storm, particularly in the rockaways where they are going house to house to find if there

aren't more people in need and hopefully they will not discover any more tragedies. i think that the best thing we can do for those that we lost is to make sure that we do everything we can to the next time we have a big storm, do an even better job of protecting people, giving them more warning, maybe people will find different ways to communicate with them. any loss of life is tragic and sadly nature is dangerous and these things occur but we're going to do everything we can to prevent tragedies in the future and i think with the best we can do for those who did die is to make sure the city recovers and comes out of this and builds a better life for those of the deceased left behind. that's the best thing we can do and it is the only thing we can do. many people's lives were turned upside down by the storm.

and everyone in city government at every level is working 24 hours a day to get the city back on track, working with the mta and con ed to meet the biggest challenges we face, mass transit and electric power. most of the mta bus lines i'm happy to say were operating this morning and thanks to the generosity of the mta, they are free for the day, so thank you, mta. next time somebody wants to criticize them, maybe you might have a smile on your face and say, well, i liked it when you gave us a free ride. bus service will continue to increase. limited subway service may actually return tomorrow. there certainly will not be service below 34th street in manhattan where there is no power. and the mta workers were working extremely hard to get -- >> we obviously lost the signal for that. we'll try to get that back to you. we're going to take a short

break. our coverage of superstorm sandy continues in a moment. dad vo: ok, time for bed, kiddo. lights out. ♪

(sirens) (train horn) ♪ vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

. we're getting hundreds of i-report i-reporters, instagrams from people, as people return home. i want to bring in brooke baldwin from atlanta who has been monitoring some of this stuff we have been getting. stories are just incredible. >> they're incredible and we have been getting hundreds of i-reports, at the height of the storm we were getting ten instagram photos per second. i want to show you something. we get a lot of photos at cnn, let's be honest. we get some photos we think there are no ways this could be real. we go through the vetting process. this is real. take a close look at this. this is from jordan shapiro, one of our ireporters, standing on the williamsburg side here. this is the williamsburg bridge. you see this, perfectly in the middle of the bridge, dark manhattan, power working in brooklyn, just a perfect example

of something you rarely, rarely see here in new york. so that's one of our ireports. these are instagrams. we're getting all these instagrams from you. wasn't to highlight three of them. we thank you for them, by the way. this is from babylon, new york, from becky bennett. look at the water, you know. sort of left with the transportation being a boat. she says she was without power for 12 hours and says she feels like one of the lucky ones. let me show you another one, jersey city, a lot of you can relate to this. look at the wind. this is from mike croix. he could not believe the wind damage, the brick, the gazebo, totally blown over. one more for you, this is from a town, settled back in the 17th century, a beautiful day 24 hours prior in new england. this is from john barnett. this tree gone, toppled over. quickly we love to get your pictures, real simple, go to

cnn.com/open story. it is an open story. we cover it, you cover it, again, cnn.com/openstory. anderson, back to you. >> brooke, thank you very much. great that people send that stuff into us. the top of the hour, this is cnn special coverage of superstorm sandy, the destruction, the rescues, the early efforts to recover and most importantly to rebuild. we are going to rebuild. i'm live here in new york city from the balcony of the time warner center. you see over my shoulder that collapsed crane still hanging like a dagger over 57th street, entire area, about seven blocks still cordoned off, causing a huge traffic headache. a lot of people evacuated from this area. this hour president obama is in new jersey to take a look at the shore with one of mitt romney's biggest supporters, governor chris christie. more on that in a moment. first, breaking news, new york city's best known hospital, bellevue, is now being evacuated. hundreds of patients are being moved due it a failing power supply. dr. sanjay gupta will join us

momentarily with more on that. the storm claimed at least 50 lives in the u.s. and one in can d canada. national guard troops are rescuing families trapped by floodwaters in hoboken, new jersey, right now. we learned today that the navy is sending three amphibious landing ships to the coast of new york as well as new jersey in case they're needed. nation's largest subway system still water logged, limited subway and rail service begins tomorrow, but above 34th street as mayor michael bloomberg said a moment ago in a press conference, below 34th street, no subway service. one sign of normalcy, the new york stock exchange was reopened and the bell was rung by mayor michael bloomberg. getting back to business there. we have this today from nasa, first time we're seeing this. satellite images of superstorm

sandy from its inception in the caribbean to its landfall in new jersey. days of watching, warnings and preparations, but still in 19 seconds. but the storm is not done yet. it is expected to dump more snow in west virginia, bring heavy rain, wind and snow to canada and still making waves as high as 14 to 18 feet on lake michigan. take a look there. >> remnants of hurricane sandy, got to love it. >> amazing the power of this storm, just keeps on going. president obama is getting a personal look at the destruction in new jersey. he's touring as i mentioned the damage zone this afternoon with governor chris christie of new jersey. he says this is no time for politics. >> this is so much bigger than an election. this is the livelihood of the people of my state. what they expect me to do is get the job done. when someone asks me, an honest question, i give an honest answer. how has the president been to deal with?

he's been outstanding to deal with on this. >> senator robert mendez of new jersey will be meeting with president obama and governor christie later today. obviously new jersey as i today tour the damage. got the senator on the phone now from atlantic city. thank you for being with us. what is your greatest concern right now? >> well, my greatest concern is getting some people who are still trapped like in hoboken out of their homes, the water putrid with gasoline and electrical wires and appreciate that we got the national guard there yesterday. and then getting power on, we still have close to 2 million people in the state without power. power makes a big difference in people's lives and working with utility companies to try to accelerate that process and ask the president to help us with the department of energy since they used some of their resources potentially to help us get more power back online. >> are you satisfied so far with the response you've seen and the federal and the state and the local level? >> i am. i mean, you know, look, i lived

here my whole life in new jersey. i've never seen anything like this. and so i recognize the magnitude and so far, you know, we have a close cooperation with the governor, the president committed all the resources, signed the highest emergency declaration, unlocked all of fema's assets here. we have the federal search and rescue teams here. in addition to the national guard. so, so far so good. until somebody gets back in their home or can get out of their home because the water has receded or they get rescued, it is never quick enough, but we're going to keep pushing hard and i'm proud of everybody and i see some of the best in people today and yesterday. people helping each other, people who lost everything and, you know, worrying about themselves, out there helping other people. >> we just saw images of some guy out in hoboken with a ski pole, basically trying to clear up some of the gutters to help

out with some of the flooding, just a citizen doing what he can and that certainly, as you said, we're seeing some of the best in people. have you ever seen anything like this? i mean, the kind of -- hoboken's flooded before, but i don't think -- i've never seen it like this. >> no, hoboken has the unfortunate problem of being, first of all, below sea level and secondly they have what we call combined sewer systems. so they get waste water and regular water through that system. and so that ultimately creates a havoc when there is the type of flooding, but this, you know, 100 year storm makes an occurrence far beyond anything i've seen in hoboken. i've lived there until a couple of years ago. this is the worst it's ever been. >> what do you think is the hardest hit area in new jersey? is it seaside heights or seaside cliffs? >> well, it is several parts of the shore area. i was just in pleasant before i came over here. i'm watching enormous destruction from the whole

marina and boats that are in the middle of the streets. and in pleasantville, right outside of atlantic city, the mayor there, you have whole rows of these homes, the back ends have been pulled off and just destroyed. so the shore area is hit very badly. the atlantic county very badly. but also places like in bergen where i was yesterday, in little ferry and some of those places around there, you have tremendous flooding going on. they weren't expecting it. they weren't in the range of who had to be evacuated. the storm surge created a break on the levee never been breached before. and you have as the mayor of mantaloking said it, i lost my police department, i lost most of my fire department, city hall is under water and 80% of my community is under water.

>> senator menendez, i appreciate you joining us and our thoughts with everyone in new jersey now who is trying to deal with the aftermath of this storm. thank you for joining us. >> thanks so much, anderson. let's check in with wolf blitzer who is joining us now in washington. wolf? >> you know, anderson, if somebody would have said just a little while ago, maybe even a week or two ago that in the final few days before the election the president of the united states would travel to new jersey and would go around the state touring parts of the state with a republican governor chris christie, given what chris christie has said about him during the republican convention, it would have been unbelievable. but we're seeing that right now. both of these men want to be together, they need each other right now. they both have to work together to make sure the people of new jersey and some of the other states like new york and connecticut, they get this job done because this is a real disaster. goes to show you how unpredictable the political world can be. the images that we already have seen today and the images we're

about to see of governor christie and president obama walking around together in marine one, flying over the shore line of new jersey together, eyewitnessing this destruction and the disaster, they're going to be very powerful images that i think will have an impact on these final days of this election. and obviously they're going to have an impact on the people f they can get the state level, the federal level on track to do what they have to do, to deal with this crisis, that will be good for the folks and millions of people who are suffering as a result of hurricane sandy. >> and, wolf, as you know, it is not just the images, the words that governor christie said over the last 24, 48 hours of praise he heaped on president obama i think surprised a lot of people and governor christie when asked about it, said, look, it is not a time for politics. i believe he said something to the effect of i don't give a damn about the president presideial election, his concern is getting aid to the people who need it. >> he declared a disaster area

for new jersey. he was on the phone the other night at midnight with the president, the president got on the phone, and within a couple of hours fema and the federal government did exactly what the governor of new jersey wanted and i think it is legitimate. i think governor christie who is a straight talker, he really feels grateful now to washington and the federal government for doing what they're doing, grateful to the president of the united states. it is interesting the president was ready to go to new york, anderson, where you are as well, but the mayor of new york, mayor bloomberg suggested that was not necessarily a good time. whenever a president visits an area, takes up a lot of resources, you got to deal with an important guest like that, so bloomberg basically said don't come now, maybe come later. but governor christie said come now, i want to show you what's going on, you must see this disaster, we have never seen anything like this in new jersey before. so, please come. and in effect the president said, yes, i'm on the way. if the governor said this was not a good time with all due respect mr. president for you to come and visit this devastated area, the president wouldn't

have gone. he didn't force himself on the governor, but christie wanted him to come and these pictures that we're going to be seeing very soon are going to be -- are going to underscore that commitment that the federal government and state government has now to the people of new jersey. i think it will be a powerful image. >> logistically it is easier in new jersey given the huge sort of swath of destruction, they're able to tour it by helicopter. here in manhattan, traffic is a mess and i can tell you all over this island and so obviously any president arriving on this island, whenever the president comes, traffic gets even worse. clearly they don't want to do anything that is going to make it worse right now. wolf, we're going to check in with you throughout the day and obviously in the situation room coming up. we also want to show you now where some of the most devastated areas are from sandy. for that, to brooke baldwin in atlanta. brooke? >> you were talking to senator bob menendez about seaside heights this is the jersey shore, totally obliterated. this is where governor chris

christie told reporters he took his family to the roller coaster and the merry-go-round. chad myers is with me as we look at the pictures. >> that was fun town before it got hit. we'll take you to the casino as well. this is what the boardwalk looked like, beautiful, pristine, great beach, it burns your feet to get to the shore, to the water, that's how great and how long the beach is there, all the way down to wild wood. and now look what we have. >> this is -- do we have the current pictures? that was the roller coaster and now sitting in the atlantic ocean. >> the entire pier is gone. this is devastating to think about the pier being gone, but the pier is just the pier. the people are behind the pier, the people's homes that live there, the full time residents, there is an awful lot gone to the west of there as well. the entire seaside beach area is just a small sliver of -- just a spit of sand, literally. only about, i don't know, six blocks wide. the water went completely over

seaside heights into the bay behind it and then right into tom's river. those are the pictures. >> let's go south and show pictures from long beach, new jersey, on a southern barrier island. closer to the eye. what are we looking at? a bunch of water? >> you had wind damage and surge damage all along the jersey shore. then the surge went beyond the shore and then into the base behind the beach and into all of these other communities that really were on hard land. all of a sudden, you didn't expect this, where the hard land in the bay -- or the bay front property also got destroyed by the same surge. >> gosh. anderson, these pictures from the sky, the aerial images give you the perspective of how bad, how sad it is for so many people there in new jersey. >> and there is still some communities there, as you mentioned, seaside heights, where we haven't been able to get an on the ground view and we're efforting that. we want to bring that to our viewers as soon as we can. we just got an interview with the governor of new york, andrew

cuomo, you're going to hear from him when we come back. he was touring that devastated area in queens. we'll be right back. ♪ [ female announcer ] nature exists on the grandest scale... ♪ ...and in the tiniest details. ♪ and sometimes both. nature valley granola thins pack the big taste of granola and dark chocolate into one perfect square, under 100 calories. nature valley granola thins. nature at its most delicious. nature valley granola thins. ♪

♪ we're lucky, it's not every day you find a companion as loyal as a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. that was me... the day i learned i had to start insulin for my type 2 diabetes. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me... discovering once-daily levemir® flexpen. flexpen® is prefilled. doesn't need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. flexpen® is insulin delivery... my way. levemir® (insulin detemir [rdna origin] injection) is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children

with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life threatening. ask your healthcare provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. with flexpen®... say good night to vial and syringe. ask your doctor about levemir® flexpen. covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay at myflexpen.com. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke.

welcome back to our continuing coverage. wasn't i want to check in with deborah feyerick, she just spoke to the governor of new york, andrew cuomo. >> reporter: he wanted to see how bad the devastation was, he's touring parts of new york and new jersey as you know. here is what he had to say about how new yorkers are going to rebuild. >> the tragedy is obvious. it is amazing there were no fatalities. and terrible as this is, that there were no fatalities in and of itself is a god send. we lost 26 people in the state of new york thus far. and we're still counting. the more we are discovering the potential for fatalities, but no one died here really is a blessing. and we are here to find out how

we can best help. we need water restored. we need services restored. we want people back in their homes. a lot of work, that's obvious. but new yorkers have been challenged before. we have been knocked down before and we get up and we get up stronger and better than we were before. and i say to my colleagues, we're not just going to rebuild this community, we're going to build it back better than ever before. >> reporter: now, anderson, arguably the governor did not stay very long. matter of fact, didn't even get very far, but he's been surveying the damage through all sorts of media, keeping an eye on things here. anderson, you know, it is amazing. when you look and see the scope of how many homes were lost here, it really does look like a bomb was dropped, this entire area incinerated. also what is amazing is we're seeing a lot of people and those people are coming and looking in the debris and some people are incredibly emotional. they're trying to figure out

exactly, you know, what they're going to do next. some people were living here year round. others coming for the summer. but still there is really a sense of resiliency. they're not sure exactly what their next move is going to be. a lot of people left with the clothes that they were wearing, one woman said, look, we locked up our chairs, locked up our bikes, thinking everything would be where it was, there would be a little flad damaood damage, b much and i'll be back to getny thi my things and that didn't happen. as a precaution, the fire department has special teams sifting through the debris, going through the debris, just to make sure that everybody was really accounted for. and that's one thing, so far nobody is missing, there can always be an elderly person who may not have checked in or somebody who hasn't reached a person because the cell phone service here is just so bad. so you've got those teams out you have the people coming back. somehow this community will rebuild, but right now, the big

question is how. anderson? >> that's the question for a lot of people. it is not just -- as you said, it is a very tight knit community and in many cases multiple members of a family who lost their homes all in that area, because they're living close to one another. in hoboken, new jersey, national guard, as we pointed out, is rescuing trapped families, little girl in a halloween shirt is the first one lifted off the national guard truck today. not the kind of halloween she anticipated. don zimmer asking people to bring boats to city hall to help free people trapped in their homes. national guard is working to pump out the millions of gallons of water. water mixed with sewage, mayor zimmer is urging people not to go outside because of live electrical wires in the water. there is 50,000 people living in hoboken, i should point out, brian todd is there for us right now. brian, again, we're just seeing so much work by the national guard, who really just arrived late last night. >> reporter: they did, anderson.

they arrived starting shortly after midnight to try to evacuate some people from their apartments, from their brown stones here, people who just thought they couldn't really stay in their homes too much longer. not life threatening situations necessarily, but at least some discomfort there and people just not wanting to be in the homes with the water like this. now, we have to say now that the water is receding. it is receding pretty drastically over the last hour. there is a stretch of dry street there behind me. that was not there an hour ago. a lot of cars completely -- not completely but submerged up to the tire range there. now some of the water receding. a lot of that is due to the efforts of gentlemen like this. this is a volunteer from the neighborhood here. he and a couple of other guys have come out here on the corners here, clearing out storm drains. and i think that's responsible for a lot of the water reseating. city workers doing what they can to siphon this out. this is a surge from the hudson river that came up from the storm drain, when the storm came, the water came into the drains, the hudson surged, water had nowhere to go but here.

and now you see the result. this is the corner of new york street and garden street in new york. this is a town of 50,000 people. several thousand stranded in their homes for several hours overnight and into today. and another issue here is the water is just filthy. there is a health hazard here. this water is filled with debris, garbage, chemicals, anything you can imagine. it is a health hazard as well. >> how great is that that just people coming out with whatever equipment they have, ski pole, and in some cases or whatever they have and just trying to clear storm drains. that's -- that's, you know, as we said, we have seen time and time again, storms like this bringing out the best in people and obviously a strong sense of community there. it is great to see. appreciate your report. when we come back, there is obviously politics involved in all of this in terms of how this is all going to affect the election. how it is going to affect early voting as well. we'll take a look at that ahead.

i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. at red lobster. there's so many choices, the guests love it! [ male announcer ] don't miss endless shrimp, just $14.99! try as much as you like, anyway you like. like new teriyaki grilled shrimp. offer ends soon!

my name is angela trapp, and i sea food differently. on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪

welcome back to our

continuing coverage. the presidential campaigns are breaking new ground with the elections six days away. mitt romney resumed campaigning in the shadow of a major disaster. romney spokesa sho a short time. and earlier he seemed to mute his criticism of president obama. he about say it is time to take a new course. romney will make a campaign stop in jacksonville this evening, and then three scheduled stops tomorrow in virginia. president obama resumes campaigning tomorrow, five days before the election with appearances in green bay, wisconsin, boulder, colorado, and las vegas. brooke baldwin is with us now from atlanta with a look at how this disaster represents unchartered waters for the presidential campaign. >> this is unprecedented, this national disaster here, six days before this presidential election. let's go straight to the grounds. youngstown, ohio, to cnn contributor john avalon, a senior political columnist for "newsweek" and the daily beast. here we are, natural disaster, six days ahead here of november

6th, how does this change the way the campaigns change the way they approach the election? >> first of all, the fact that president obama took himself off the campaign trail to focus on his current job, which is actually being the president of the united states, there are no campaign events, but there is the opportunity to appear what he is, the commander in chief. and he's gotten generally high marks. the fact he appeared with governor chris christie today, the popular republican governor of new jersey, that shows him as a pragmatic leader, mitt romney walked that line very delicately turning campaign rallies into hurricane relief events. it puts the emphasis off the more divisive politics and more on a civic conversation that we should be having. and in some cases early voting has been affected by hurricane sandy. that's been a minor issue in north carolina and virginia in particular. but here in ohio, certainly, early voting going on, no sign of stoppage just because of the storm on the east coast. >> you know, bridging the

divide, we heard the theme of unity, both from mitt romney and the president, appealing to that sense of unity, no doubt prompted as you point out at least in part to the east coast disaster. do you expect between now and tuesday they'll remove the gloves again? >> reporter: i think the gloves will be removed, particularly because we're seeinging t inthe unprecedented impact of outside money. we already saw one flyer in virginia, associated with apparently americans for tax reform, that tried to politicize the storm. so the outside groups and the outside money, you're going to see an uptick in dirty tricks in part because it is dirty money that is flowing through the election system. the candidates may try to stay out of the fray, but the outside groups will be more than willing to take off the gloves and fight hard because this is a war of attrition now, this fight is so close that it comes down to every vote. it is a game of inches. >> with the close fight, it has been days since we have looked at polls. so in the name of getting our bearings here, we have a poll today, a three-swing state, this

is in new york times, cbs news an quinnipiac poll. florida, 48-47 for obama. ohio, 50-45 for obama. and finally virginia, 49-47 for obama. these three states very, very close. looking at the numbers, what do they tell you? >> reporter: they tell me, brooke, they're fascinating, in particular florida and virginia. these are the big three swing states. that's what we have been going through on the battleground bus tour. florida, virginia, ohio. mitt romney had real momentum coming out first debate. he had gotten a sizable or comfortable narrow, but narrow lead in florida, virginia, that seems to have dissipated where the two polls you mentioned have obama narrowly up and ohio has always been president obama's firewall. no republican has won the white house without winning ohio. that leaves something sizable good for chicago. there is so much noise around the polls now, the focus is on early voting and the ground game. it is no substitute for actual

votes. and that's what folks of both campaigns right now. >> john avalon in the battleground bus tour in ohio. thank you. we'll shift the focus back to the aftermath, the special coverage here in the aftermath of superstorm sandy continues. we're now getting word of some evacuations happening in bellevue hospital. bellevue hospital. we're going to talk to dr. sanjay gupta about this after this quick break. 0 this y. so why exactly should that be of any interest to you? well, in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. like the transatlantic cable that connected continents. and the panama canal that made our world a smaller place. we supported the marshall plan that helped europe regain its strength. and pioneered the atm, so you can get cash when you want it. it's been our privilege to back ideas like these, and the leaders behind them.

so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping people and their ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ then you may be looking for help in choosing the right plan for your needs. so don't wait. call now. whatever your health coverage needs, unitedhealthcare can help you find the right plan. open enrollment to choose your medicare coverage begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so now is the best time to review your options and enroll in a plan. medicare has two main parts, parts a and b, to help cover a lot of your expenses, like hospital care... and doctor visits. but they still won't cover all of your costs. now's the time to learn about unitedhealthcare plans that may be right for you.

are you looking for something nice and easy? like a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with prescription drug coverage? a medicare advantage plan can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage all in one plan... for nothing more than what you already pay for part b. you'll also have the flexibility to change doctors from a network of providers dedicated to helping you stay healthy. plus with the pharmacy saver program, you can get prescriptions for as low as $2 at thousands of pharmacies in retail locations like these, all across the country. call now to learn more. unitedhealthcare has the information you need so you'll be better prepared when making medicare decisions. maybe you'd just like help paying for your prescriptions. consider a part d prescription drug plan. it may help reduce the cost of your prescription drugs. with over 30 years of medicare experience, unitedhealthcare has been helping people live

healthier lives. remember, open enrollment ends friday, december 7th. we can help. call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. call now. ♪ as we said, breaking news to report, getting word of more details on evacuations at bellevue hospital here in new york. we're going to check in with sanjay gupta who will be joining us shortly from outside bellevue. we're just getting some images, we're seeing of patients being evacuated. we'll check in with sanjay in a little bit. seaside heights, new jersey, in better times, voted one of the top ten beaches. you've seen the pictures from

helicopters of the devastation there, gained notoriety as the location of mtv's "jersey shore." tourists blocked to the ocean front amusement pier, just take a look at what the landmark looks like right now. this is the roller coaster, the star jet coaster still standing, now standing several hundred yards out into the ocean. pictures resonating across the country as people visited the seaside heights amusement pier in better days. governor chris christie reminisced about the time he was there. >> got back up into the helicopter and flew to the jersey shore of my youth, where we used to go all the time. to the boardwalk, to seaside heights. and it is gone. the pier with the rides, where i was -- took my kids this august before the republican convention, those rides are in

the atlantic ocean. the ride that my two younger kids rode this summer is in the atlanta ig oce atlantic ocean. the roller coaster -- it almost looks like the pier came out from underneath it and it fell on to the ocean floor and stayed almost fully constructed. the stands in the middle of the boardwalk that sells sausage and peppers and lemonade is gone. unlike the others where they're farther back from the boardwalk, this one sat right in the middle of the boardwalk. it was unusual on that boardwalk. i remember it very well. and i looked for it today. and the entire structure is gone. >> a lot of businesses, large and small now gone.

i want to bring in paul blue who works for a firm that tracks the recovery process for small businesses. he lives in short hills, new jersey. we're looking at pictures of the roller coaster in seaside heights and now pictures from the park's better days, the amusement pier, it is a huge tourist draw to the jersey shore. any idea how much we're talking about, how much this is going to hurt new jersey's tourism economy? >> well, i'll tell you, it is a big deal if we don't recover because tourism is one of the top three industries for the state. and about three-quarters of the industry associated with the jersey shore. so we are closely trying to monitor what we know in terms of the full impact and the recovery process, but it is going to take a little time and it is really the big question of how fast we can ramp up for the next season, that is the peak season in the summer period of time. a little time to rebuild, but there will be lingering effects. >> so many small businesses. what is the recovery process? what kind of process is it?

>> the recovery process unfortunately, even under the best case, ends up having scars. some of that is just the fact that businesses will miss the next window of peak season. some businesses don't always have the financial resources to fully recover. it is that question mark that still lingers out there. the past experience we have on this is that it is a couple of years that we really have to go through that recovery when you look at comparable events that played on u.s. history. >> can it be up and ready to run this summer? >> it is a big question at this point in time. i say the u.s. has a unique capacity to recover quickly, more so than most markets, most economies around the globe, but even underneath that scenario we would say everything would break right, it is not going to be fully back for this summer season. generally it takes two or three summers to get back and the severity of the devastation along the coast, which is what your pictures are showing, it tells you how much has to be rebuilt and so we'll have to see, hope for the best.

it is wonderful that everybody is coming together and providing resources. that will help. but summer is six, seven months away, that's a lot of rebuilding to do between now and then and the weather isn't going to cooperate during that period of time because we have the peak of the winter season. >> getting worse and worse. paul, i appreciate your expertise. thank you for being with us right now. as i say, we're following this breaking news story about bellevue hospital being evacuated. we'll give you an update on that. dr. sanjay gupta is outside, monitoring developments there. also want to bring you the latest on what we know about the subway system when and if it may get back on track. we'll be right back.

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] don't just reject convention. drown it out. introducing the all-new 2013 lexus ls f sport. an entirely new pursuit.

superstorm sandy turned yet another new york popular tourist spot into a ghost town. cnn ireporter shows us the scene. take a look. >> this is coney island station.

normally it is hustle bustle here. nothing but muck on the street level. >> wow. two pictures strike at the heart of new yorkers. this is one of them. taxis parked in what looks like a lake. then there is this, a subway tunnel flooded. i want to bring in jason carol. where are you right now? what are you seeing? >> reporter: i'm on the -- i'm on one side of the queens borough bridge, the manhattan side. what i've been doing all day is trying to get a gauge of what it has been like for commuters. look at what we have been dealing with and seeing all day long. this is how a lot of people, thousands, are getting into the city, getting to work. they're huffing it, on foot. it is how they get to where they need to go. there are some bu buses runnin. lines and lines of people waiting to get on some of the buses to get you where you need to go. we heard stories of people waiting hours to get on a bus. no subway service. no train service, so commuters

are basically doing what they can to get to work. i want to introduce, bring in demitra. tell me about what your day was like, trying to get where you needed to go. >> i usually take the long island railroad to penn, so this morning i got up, gave myself an extra hour, hour and a half, got a ride to another part of queens, jumped on an express bus, tried to get into the city, and it just has been chaos. it was like a slug moving over the bridge. >> this morning, if you had to time it, how long did it take you? >> close to four hours. >> four hours to get to work today. >> for a 50-minute commute. >> you're heading home, back to queens. >> i left on foot, so i'm going to go over the bridge and call my brother-in-law again who dropped me off this morning at the bus stop and see if he loves me enough to come and get me. >> i'm sure he does. demitra, thank you for joining us. this is a lot what a lot of peo have been doing. we talked to some people at brooklyn bridge, talked about their experience.

a driver pulled up, he said he was going to charge them $50 to take them across the brooklyn bridge. they said they weren't going do that. we did get some good updates, good news from mayor michael bloomberg. he said that tomorrow there will be some limited subway service, that will be restored. again, i use the word limited. also, limited rail service on the long island railroad. mayor bloomberg also saying, anderson, starting tomorrow at 6:00 a.m., anyone trying to get into the city in terms of this is noncommercial traffic, trying to get into the city, drivers, will have to have at least three passengers in their car. he's doing that to try to relief a lot of gridlock we're seeing on the streets here. anderson? >> yeah, jason, i got to tell you, just me trying to get into work, i waited 20, 30 minutes trying to get a cab, couldn't get it. some of the prices the cab drivers are charging, it is ridiculous. they're going off meter because they can put multiple people on a cab now, which normally they can't, but they're basically --

some cases they're trying to gouge customers saying, you know, $20, $30 for a ride which should be $5, it is ridiculous. i hope that the new york city taxi limousine commission, the commissioner really cracks down on this or at least if you're in a cab and your driver is doing that, you take, take a picture of their i.d., and send it to the taxi and limousine commissioner or to us because it is outrageous that anybody would be taking advantage of new yorkers at a time like this. >> absolutely, anderson. that's certainly good advice. i know exactly what you mean. i live downtown. so in order for me to get to work, i've got to walk some 50 blocks. it is the only way to do it. i witnessed it as well. there is a negotiation that goes on, it is probably hard for people not from new york to try to understand it, we see the cabs going by now, but there is negotiations that go on in terms of price. because you are sharing a cab with other people and so there has got to be some rules or something in effect so people

are playing by some of the rules here. >> you hate to see anybody taking advantage of a situation like this. i couldn't actually even get a cab. just some people in a car stopped, recognized me, and they drove me up relatively close to my office, got out and walked the rest of the way. but i was very lucky and normally ride my bike around. jason carol, we'll continue to follow this. and, again, any instances of people being gouged, you just hate to see that in a situation like this. we have seen so many examples of this storm bringing out the best in people. we want to continue to see those sorts of things. when we come back, we're going to talk to some folks in new jersey who saw their -- saw boats being watched away, saw piers being washed away. our coverage continues. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed

that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. [ "the odd couple" theme playing ] humans.

even when we cross our "t"s and dot our "i"s, we still run into problems -- mainly other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand. that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident, and new car replacement, where if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call... to talk to an insurance expert about everything else that comes standard with our base auto policy. [ tires squeal ] and if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

well, we're just hearing now more and more stories of how people got through this storm. i want to bring in cnn's sandra endo now in egg harbor township, new jersey, where survivors watched boats and docks come crashing into their houses. >> reporter: anderson, the rescue and recovery effort is still under way in some parts of atlantic city. i'm here in a bay side community. you can see the water front right here. take a look at how destructive superstorm sandy was. this was a dock. but completely demolished. that shows you how strong the wind and the waves were in this area. there was a mandatory evacuation order for this area. but clearly some residents say they wanted to ride out the storm and this homeowner stayed inside during the entire time. and they say they watched the waves come up and bang into their homes. they saw parts of the dock bang into their porch here as well as the houseboat, basically collide, causing this trail of

destruction. you see pieces of the home on their lawn. and obviously just a trail of debris here. this is a scene, a lot of residents are coming back to as they try to pick up the pieces. now, if you look across the street, that is where the dock ended up or at least a portion of it in somebody's driveway. you can also see an uprooted tree, downed power lines, and if you take a look at the end of the street, that is where a houseboat ended up and washed ashore. so clearly a very devastating scene here for a lot of residents. very difficult to come back and try to pick up the pieces. obviously a lot of cleanup work left to do. we have seen fema officials here trying to survey the damage as well. and residents said they came back and found dead fish on their driveway. so this is going to take a long time for this community to pick up the pieces. anderson? >> good to hear that fema officials were there on site. sandra endo, thanks.

we're getting news of evuations in bellevue hospital in new york. let's bring in dr. sanjay gupta. what have you learned? >> reporter: we have been talking about this for a little bit of time, getting more details about the little bit of time getting more details that bellevue is going through a more complete evacuation. some 700 patients who are being evacuated they say over the next couple of days. what i should point out is we're learning some of the critically ill patients were evacuated earlier, anderson. part of a protocol that they had. but the generators that they thought could be -- should be able to do the task, what they're finding over the last day they've been actually carrying oil up 12 flights of stairs to try and keep that generator going. the fuel pumps pumping oil up to the generators at higher levels simply were not working anymore, starting to malfunction. some of them were underneath water. so it's been a bit of a chaotic situation there sounds like over the last 24 hours. the decision was made i think

officially around 1:00 today to go ahead and just evacuate the entire hospital. i don't know if you know much about this hospital or where it's located in the city. i know you've been talking about this for some time, but this is a hospital that also has about 125,000 emergency room visits a year. average. so that's several hundred a day. and you can get an idea of the toll that takes on a city like this. >> i also got to say, sanjay, given this location and also nyu medical center, the problems they had, for anyone living downtown now, that's two hospitals downtown that are now not available. >> that's right. and, you know, i talked to some of the folks at nyu. they say that they hope to be up and running they said maybe even this week. although spending some time over there yesterday, realizing that within a period of 45 minutes on monday night they got ten feet of water into some of these systems, it's hard to believe

that that could actually happen. one thing i want to point out because a lot of people have been asking about the generators, anderson, i know you've talked about it as well. we got some information from people inside the hospital, these generators are typically located in various locations around the hospital. some may be at lower levels, but they typically put generator at higher levels as well because of the concern of flooding. these generators run on fuel, but they often have an oil pump mechanism as well to help keep the generators going. and it's that oil pumping mechanism which is located at sea level or below sea level that seems to have not worked, malfunctioned or flat out failed at bellevue. that's the real concern. that's why they've been carrying that oil up 12 flights of stairs for the last 24 hours or so. >> wow. again, sanjay, appreciate the reporting. we'll continue to monitor that development. more coverage when we continue. [ male announcer ] unitedhealthcare wants to know

"what do you want from a medicare plan?" i just want a company that helps me get the most out of my healthcare.

i want it to be simple. one plan. one card to carry. i want lower copays... and i want my drugs covered. [ male announcer ] say "hello" to more of what you want with unitedhealthcare and our all-in-one medicare advantage plans, including aarp medicarecomplete plans, insured through unitedhealthcare. one, simple plan could give you hospital and doctor coverage with prescription drug benefits and more, like vision and hearing, all with monthly premiums as low as zero-dollars. oh, and i want to spend less on prescriptions. [ male announcer ] say "hello" to value. on average, our medicare advantage members save over eighteen hundred dollars each year on prescriptions alone. call unitedhealthcare now to discuss what you want in a medicare plan. i want the freedom to pick my doctors. [ male announcer ] say "hello" to choice. unitedhealthcare has one of the largest networks, giving you the flexibility to choose, and easily change, your doctors.

call today. let us help you learn more about our choice of medicare advantage plans including aarp medicarecomplete plans. i want a company that's as interested in my health as i am. [ male announcer ] say "hello" to care in a healthcare company. preventive care coverage and extras like health assessments, one-to-one coaching and nutritional guidance. personal care, like help understanding your plan options. with over 30 years of medicare experience, unitedhealthcare is here for you. so give us a call and consider a single plan that could give you more of what you want, including preventive care coverage and extras like vision and hearing, with premiums as low as zero dollars a month. but don't wait. the last day to enroll is december seventh. call now.

welcome back to our continuing coverage of superstorm sandy. we've been seeing a number of rescues out on -- aviation rescues to tell you about. at least 50 people in the u.s. have died we know from this superstorm. we're learning more about one of the victims, the ship sank off the coast of north carolina monday, coast guard says she died after being swept overboard in the storm. she was a former miss alaska. her true dream was living the sea faring life, one of her tweets says i'm in love with my ship. she joined the crew in hopes of educating children. she is remembered here by her aunt. >> she just was always busy and active at things. and just had the bounding dry dock, i didn't know it was back out to sea especially with this

weather coming in. >> and we're just learning more and more about some of these victims. our coverage continues in just a moment. be right back. [ female announcer ] nature exists on the grandest scale... ♪ ...and in the tiniest details. ♪ and sometimes both. nature valley granola thins pack the big taste of granola and dark chocolate into one perfect square, under 100 calories. nature valley granola thins. nature at its most delicious.

i'll be back tonight at